Duggars

Thought I'd share my thoughts on these two books that I just finished.  I'm a mom in the "six's club" with six little angels filling up our home with noise and life.  Big families have an identity of their own and reading these books gave me a few insights into this supersize home.

Things I liked:

1.  The four characteristics of obedience they teach their children:

• Instant (if it doesn't happen instantly, it's not obedience)

• Cheerful ("Yes ma'am. I'd be happy to.")

• Thorough (We make sure they're looking us in the eye when we make a request. Then we wait to hear "Yes ma'am" or "Yes sir" in response.)

• Unconditional (without argument)

Resources they suggest in the book

• Bill Gothard's Operational Definitions of Character Qualities 

• Steve & Teri Maxwell's Managers of Their Homes and Managers of Their Chores

• Emilie Barnes' Survival Book for Busy Women

• Sing, Spell, Read, and Write
 (Phonics homeschool program)

• Engelmann, Haddox and Bruner's Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (homeschool materials)

• ACE (Accelerated Christian Education)
 is their homeschool program of choice as is Alpha Omega's Switched-On Schoolhouse (SOS)

2.  Conferences and Seminars they enjoy
           www.familylifeministries.com
           www.alertacademy.com
           www.noblecall.org/conferences/

3.  Their chart of operational definitions of character qualities.  
http://ati.iblp.org/ati/family/curriculum/characterqualities.pdf?show=true

4. Sam Walton's 10 Rules for Building a Business
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol76/walton.htm

5.  The chore wall system they use to keep track of all the "jurisdictions" 
http://www.rainbowresource.com/proddtl.php?id=003890

6.  The Duggars have some emotional and behavior goals they have set for their children and for themselves:

• Always use soft words, even when you don't feel well.

• Always display kind actions, even if you have been mistreated.

• Show joyful attitudes even when no one is looking.

• Have sincere motive with no thought of self-gain.

• Think pure thoughts.

• Always give a good report of others. (Never tale-bear unless physical harm will come to someone -- Matt 18).

• Never raise a hand to hit, a foot to kick, an object to throw, a voice to yell or an eye to scowl.

• Use one toy/activity at a time.

• Never let the sun go down on your wrath.

• J.O.Y. (Put Jesus first, others second, yourself last.)

7.  They keep all of the families clothes in a family closet in the laundry room. This cuts down on steps as you don't have to move the clothes from the laundry room back to the bedrooms and then back to the laundry room.  I've done that with my four little boys.  


I also wanted to mention one of their episodes I saw where they invited over their friends who had a premature baby in the shared room with their premie, Josie.  One time the friend's little one had lots of alarms go off and the mom was immediately frantic as she saw a team of doctors and nurses rush in.  She thanked Michelle Duggar on the episode because she remembers Michelle in the corner of the room praying outloud when this happened and all she could think at the time was, "Please God, hear her prayer."

I pondered this that night after watching a simple TV show.   How often I feel weak and how other people's prayers are so real.  I can rely on them when I don't have the words.  Does "ditto" work on prayers?  Perhaps not in those exact terms but I do believe that I can latch on to another's prayer as though grabbing hold of the end of a balloon string.